Utah Jazz at Philadelphia 76ers, 11/13/09
Jazz handle 76ers 112-90
PHILADELPHIA(AP) Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Wesley Matthews added a career-high 16 points and the short-handed Utah Jazz ran past the Philadelphia 76ers 112-90 on Friday night.
Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur scored 15 points each, Ronnie Brewer contributed 14 and Eric Maynor had 13 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who played without point guard Deron Williams yet still had seven players in double figures. Andrei Kirilenko had 13.
Williams - who leads the Jazz in scoring and assists - temporarily left the team to deal with a family medical issue, but could return in time for Saturday's game at Cleveland.
The Jazz had only nine available players. Also missing were guards Ronnie Price (sprained left big toe) and Kyle Korver (left knee surgery) as well as forwards Matt Harpring (ankle/knee) and C.J. Miles (left thumb surgery).
Utah started a pair of rookies in the backcourt in Matthews and Maynor. Maynor had played only 31 minutes all season before this game.
Thaddeus Young scored 17, Jason Kapono added 12 and Andre Iguodala had 11 points and 10 assists for the Sixers, who fell to 4-5. Elton Brand had 11 points and Lou Williams 10.
The Jazz held a 23-point lead late in the third quarter when Kirilenko hit a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to go ahead 92-69. Utah scored the final eight points of the quarter.
Utah's lead increased to 26 early in the fourth.
The Sixers briefly closed within 99-85 on a jumper by Kapono with 5:41 left before the Jazz pulled away and sealed the win.
Using a 17-4 run late in the second quarter, the Jazz raced to a 60-46 advantage. They led 64-50 at halftime and shot 54 percent from the field.
Notes: Iguodala had one free throw attempt in the previous two games. He was 3 for 5 against the Jazz. Utah hit its first 17 free throws before missing. The Jazz had only three turnovers at halftime.
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Utah Jazz
Coach Jerry Sloan
How did you feel about the game without Deron Williams?
I’m just happy to win. The rookies were good and they played well for us. With the absence of Deron Williams, you don’t know what you’re going to get. But our guys played a terrific game, and played together, and passed the ball to each other and made some nice plays.
What was different from the 2nd quarter on?
I thought we passed the ball and guys got open. We passed the ball and made easier baskets with guys cutting to the basket instead of just holding it and trying to take a jump shot.
Was tonight the best the team can shoot?
We shot a lot of lay-ups. We didn’t really get the ball inside where we would like to and that’s what we like to do most of the time; but we made some shots out on the perimeter. I thought we played well though. Having Deron Williams out, you don’t know what to expect. These guys have a lot on their plate. This was the first time Eric Maynor has started and actually the first time he has played an amount of minutes, but I thought he played extremely well and so did Wes Matthews the first half. They had a big first half for us. Andrei Kirilenko played well and I thought the whole team played well. We’ve been up and down a lot and it was nice to see them pull together and try to win a game.
Carlos Boozer
What does it mean to not have Deron Williams playing?
When you have a guy out like Deron Williams, everybody has to step up their game. I thought everybody did that and that’s why we had the chance to win tonight.
Eric Maynor
What was the key to the win tonight?
We executed and we did what’s been working so long. We got the ball inside. Carlos Boozer was working and Paul Millsap was working. We played from inside out and we were knocking down shots, getting to the basket, and getting to the free throw line. Once you do that and they can’t stop you, you can get a quick lead.
Philadelphia 76ers
Opening Statement
“It was obvious and has been obvious that when a team plays very physical against us, we have not responded. Whether it was Detroit on the glass, at least that was a game. Orlando, Boston and tonight we played teams that play in a physical manner. The Jazz played physical in the offensive end. Everything we talked about in pre-game and shoot around, we talked about that this team will execute in a physical manner. They will cut and get into your body; they will post up and get into your body. They will block out into your body to get rebounds because that is the strength of their team. They have great interior passing and great passing in the paint. Like anything else you can be told a lot of things, but you need to go through the experience to really find out the truth. That is what happened; we really just did not respond. After twenty-four minutes it was obvious to our guys this team plays in a physical manner. After forty-eight minutes we never responded until the last six minutes with Royal Ivey, Jason Smith and Willie (Green) in the game.”
On the Jazz…
“They just had a lot of confidence and did a lot of good things out there. The Jazz are a team that has had a system in place for a long time. Even though the guards are young, they have veterans that have been in the system. That is what continuity gives to you; the veterans help the young guys with the system.”
Elton Brand
How do you match up with players that may be bigger or stronger than you?
That is the thing; they are not bigger or stronger. [Carlos] Boozer is pretty big and strong, and their 13th man that came off the bench at the end of the game is a big guy. But other than that we can match their physical presence with our athleticism and hustling we just have to want to do it.
Andre Iguodala
Is it easier said than done, to leave this game behind you?
Yes, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. We have to defend better everyday, and try to be a better team.
What did the Jazz do in the second quarter to really get to the team?
They just ran their offense and we did not defend it. They pretty much got whatever they wanted. A lot of easy lay-ups, and when you start to get lay-ups, the hole gets a little bit bigger for them. Then they started knocking down outside shots, and that was the game.
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